Pardon Me? (A Hunter Story)
On Sunday, December 1st, the President of the United States of America pardoned his son Hunter for his federal criminal convictions. But not only did he pardon him for his convictions on gun and tax charges, but for ANY and ALL crimes he committed, may have committed or been involved in, charged or uncharged, for a period of nearly 11 years. How’s that for a bitch slap rule of law!
While Presidential and Gubernatorial pardons can be controversial because of the who they are given to and the crimes forgiven, this one breaks new ground in more than one way. Not only is this the first time the President of the United States has issued a pardon for his own child, but it also covers any crimes he MAY have committed or taken part in from January 1, 2014, through December 1, 2024. That’s a period of 10 years, 11 months, 1 day including the end date.
The full and unconditional pardon comes after numerous, repeated statements from the White House and the President himself saying he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence. Politicians and pundits proudly stated this as being part of this Administration’s “nobody is above the law” stance.
It’s interesting to note the whole reason why the person the President calls the “smartest guy I know” even had trials is because his original ultra-sweetheart plea deal for his gun and tax charges blew up when the judge questioned the wide-ranging immunity from all federal prosecution it would have offered him. Oddly enough, the pardon immunity time frame coincidently covers the same timeline.
You can read the official statement from the President at the link below and see if you buy the story or what might really be behind it.
Link to official White House statement: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/12/01/statement-from-president-joe-biden-11/
So why do I care?
Well for one, it’s a massive bitch slap in the face for the rule of law. The President is flat out lying about this crime not being charged without aggravating factors. Many people around the country have been tried, convicted and served time for this exact offence. And no, it’s not enough for you to not consider yourself a drug user when you fill out a form 4473. You either are/were, or you are/were not.
Second, much of the nation was hoping this case with its celebrity/political alure would finally do away with question 21g on form 4473.
“21.g. Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance? Warning: The use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where you reside.”
When it comes to the use of marijuana, 24 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for recreational use, and 38 states allow its medical use, yet it remains illegal at the federal level. Given the widespread legal acceptance in the states and in the medical community, isn’t it about time the federal government updated its thinking on it? After all, we’ve come a long way from the days of “Reefer Madness”. Take a look at the trailer from the 1936 film here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbjHOBJzhb0. “Marijuana, the burning weed with its roots from hell!”
But alas, the Second Amendment community did not gain an ally who would challenge the constitutionality of drug use eliminating the right to bear arms. His lawyer’s notice of challenging his case based on Bruen’s text, history and tradition test were just a ploy to get them past the elections.
Instead, all we got was a spoiled and protected political son whose self-documented drug and prostitution addiction, under the table influence peddling and corruption spanning multiple continents for himself and his family getting a pass on all the charges he was convicted of, charged with, not charged with, or may have been involved with.
And finally, now that this President has opened the door to preemptive pardons, there is talk about issuing many more preemptive pardons for key figures in the administration and the Democrat party to protect them from potential legal action when the Department of Justice (DOJ) is taken over by a Republican administration.
What does this say about the actions of these potential pardon recipients? Granting and accepting a pardon is in of itself an admission that what someone has done was illegal. Issuing them preemptively, covering long stretches of time like they did in this case, for cases that have not even been investigated to say nothing of charged or convicted, says they DID break the law. Maybe they shouldn’t have broken the law in the first place instead having to hide behind a blanket pardon issued in the final days of a lame duck Presidency.
I’m not going to outright condemn Presidential or Gubernatorial pardons because they do provide relief for those who have demonstrated an EXTRAORDINARY level of reform and deserve a second chance. Sadly, it may now have a place as relief due to political persecution, today commonly known as lawfare, something I never thought we’d never see in our country.
I guess the rule of law just isn’t what it used to be.
Bob
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